Sunday, August 29, 2010

Wedding as the Sun Sets Along Lake Michigan

  • Last night, my Uncle Tim and his girlfriend, Nikia, got married along Lake Michigan around 8:00 while the sun set over the water...definitely a beautiful image, but I, unfortunately, was not able to get a good picture.  
  • It's been a while since I've been to that side of the state and as we were driving past the signs for the state parks, I was already planning a mini trip to the lake for a day trip.  
  • It was nice to see the whole family together and reunite with the neighborhood friends.  Let me just tell you that the stories were hilarious!
  • The reception was at this club in the Muskegon.  The room started out a little divided, but by the end of the night, the two families came together on the dance floor.  When we walked out, my younger cousin had everyone in the place in tears from laughing so hard while he was dancing with the brides mom!  
  • It was definitely worth losing my voice for!
  • Mom's friend decided to start calling me "Little Ann" after my mom, but I think he should have been calling Hillary that.
  • Hillary's cupcakes were a HIT!  I hear that they were better than the wedding cake that was professionally made!
Almost looks too good to eat! ;o)




































Note: I tried to post pics from my camera phone, but they wouldn't upload correctly. Sigh

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Wednesday Thoughts

Who knew catching up on blogposts would make me feel better?  The last couple weeks have been so crazy with moving, family and work that all of these thoughts swirled in my head and wouldn't leave me alone.  So here they are!
  •  I am not sure what made me think that moving would be a good idea!  It's extremely stressful and there is so many T's to cross and I's to dot and my lack of patience makes things worse.  
  • So far, the apartment is looking quite nice and I am so glad that the ratty futon is FINALLY out of there....almost five years later!  I ended up getting a leather chaise lounge to replace it.
  • It was kinda wierd celebrating my birthday with the fam two weeks before the actual day, but whatever.  It was fun and the cupcakes that Hillary made were DELISH!
  • Despite all of the negative press that Flint has gotten and will continue to get, it was amazing to see the city come together for the Back To The Bricks car cruise this past weekend.  Over a period of four days, a few hundred thousand people came out!  What a beautiful sight to see and the cars were AWESOME!
  • Can you believe the month is just about over?!
  • NBA season is almost here!!
  • Bones season 6 starts in 29 days!
  • My nerd moment of the week: I picked up a copy of the Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri and am in the middle of the Inferno.  I remembered why I loved reading it in high school.  The style of writing is amazing!  And to think that this book was written in the 13th century...wow!  I honestly could write a separate post about this, but I'll spare you.
  • We're over half way through the week...that should make anyone happy!  
  • Off to a wedding this weekend...my uncle is getting married.  sniff, sniff

Back To The Bricks





Saturday, I went with Dad and the little’s to Back to the Bricks, a classic car show in downtown Flint.  This is something of a tradition that started several years back with Dad, Jay and I, but Jay’s schedule has made it so that he usually misses the show.  I already know what you’re thinking.  A car show in the middle of downtown Flint?  Um no!  All I say is hear me out on this and then you can say what you want.
Years ago, Flint was a thriving city thanks to General Motors, but when GM left the area leaving a few spots open, they took the jobs with them.  Flint, along with Detroit and other spots in Michigan, was hit extremely hard and is slowly coming back.  When most people hear about Flint, it’s usually nothing positive and to me it’s not fair.  Due to the crime rate, lack of jobs and an overall negative image, this city has been forgotten about over the years.
As the four of us were walking through the streets looking at all of the cars that people brought out to show off, Dad and I were amazed by how many people came out and how the show has grown over the years.  Almost everywhere we turned, there was a vendor or two promoting their business and this was not the case even last year.  To me, it seemed like the city of Flint pulled out all the stops for this.  There were now more restaurants and stores open, which was beautiful to me.   What got me was the amount of people that come out for this show.  To this city and surrounding areas, this show isn’t just a show, but The Show.  Almost a way of life.  This city, no matter the race or background, comes together for a classic car show to support this area and each other. 
While we were telling Mom about it over dinner, Hillary said, “You know, I usually don’t like cars, but going to this show is always fun.”  And she’s right.  One may not necessarily like cars and even the idea of going to a car show puts them to sleep, but this car show has something for everyone.  It may be the cars, the music, seeing what the different vendors have or just walking around the downtown area to see the new changes.   I feel like if Flint put together more events like this that encouraged the city to come together, more people would see how far the city has come and maybe change their attitude toward this area. 
If Saturday hadn’t been the last day of the show, I would have encouraged anyone reading this to check it out to not only to see the cars (although that is the best part), but to see how beautiful the downtown area really is.  Despite this little tidbit, I would still recommend checking out the area.  Plenty of restaurants, shops, the University of Michigan Flint and museums are definitely worth checking out. 

Who would win....

Last, a guy that I work with walked into my office (yes, people...my office!) and said, "I have two questions for you."  The first was "Do you think that the Miami Heat will beat the Chicago Bulls record of 72-10?" The second was "If these two teams ever played each other, who would win?"  Yes, I think that the new Miami Heat team is extremely talented, but I don't think this team should be compared to the 90's Bulls with Jordan, Pippen, Rodman and Co.  This is a team that set the standards for all future teams.  Everything about them was great...the defense, 3 point shoots, a solid body in the paint, everything!  They almost seemed like a crazy questions to ask, but it made me think.

For all of you sports fans, what do you think?

Saturday, August 14, 2010

August 13th

Meg, Andie and Jill
 
Today I said goodbye to my interns who called themselves my kids and they called me Mom or Mama Tiff.  The past interns that I have worked with, I have rarely thought about them again unless we were telling stories, but these three were different.  Andie and Jill wormed their way into my life before I had a say with their crazy stories and random moments.  When Meg, the youngest started about a month after them, she followed in their footsteps and began calling me Mama Tiff.  

Today was hard for me because these kids kept me on my toes and I became so used to them always being around.  I looked out for them the way a parent would look out for their kids and hated when they were forgotten about by others.  I found that with these three, there was never a dull moment.  Whether it was decorating my new office last month, hearing about Andie's day from hell, Jill's terrible roommates for the summer or laughing over how excited Meg was over Shark Week. 

Their parting gift

Allison, Meg, me, Jess, Jill, Andie and Adair

When Jill and Andie first started in our office, I noticed that the word that they used to describe everything was RUDE!  Of course, when Meg started in the office, she started using this word as well.  Now when I hear or say this word, I will always think of them.  

Appointments had a lunch for them to thank them for all of their help yesterday and it's already hard enough for me to think of something to write in a card other than, "Thank you and good luck," but when it was even harder for me because I actually liked them.  When I finished the last card, I actually had to walk away hoping like hell that I wouldn't cry!  (Yes, I'm human and I do cry sometimes!)  Amy and I asked a couple times if they really had to leave today and unfortunately, the answer was yes. Sigh

To my kids, 

Thank you for a crazy summer!  You will definitely be missed, but I'm sure you already know that!  Jill, please hold it down in DC and I'm sure I'll be visiting!  Andie, please stay away for the bikers and keep the random stories coming!  Meg, what can I say?  You definitely changed my opinion of high schoolers with your maturity and sass.  I know that you all will do well in the upcoming semester.  When you are tempted to do something crazy, please stop and think of what look I would be giving you at that moment if I were there.  Hopefully, that will make you rethink your choices.  Take care of yourselves!


Mama Tiff


Meg, Andie, Jill and I
The Family Tree

Some people come into our lives and quickly go.  Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same.  ~Flavia Weedn, Forever, © Flavia.com

Monday, August 9, 2010

Ruler



Today was one of those Monday's that could have gone somewhere!  (And that's putting it nicely.)  This afternoon, I needed a ruler, one of those many things that are everywhere until you need one.  After searching all over the place, I finally asked Amy if she had one and she did...yay.  She asked me why I didn't have one and I told her that it's best that I didn't have one because I would be tempted to use it as a weapon when people started to irritate the living hell out of me and walked away.  I am pretty sure she thought I was kidding!  By the end of the day, I'm sure she agreed with me. 

In an hour and half, I was this close to using it on a few people and when she walked into my office just before five o'clock, I had just about had it with people and their stupidity!  

So, as a note, I should never have anything that can be used as a weapon when I am dealing with really frustrating people! 

Kthanxbai!

Ps. I really do hate that someone stole my seat at  the library and two other people have decided to sit in my area!  Go sit somewhere else!  And dude, close your freaking legs!

Monday Ramblings

Yes, children, today is definitely a Monday!  I figured I would say a few things while I was waiting for the apartment people, who are already at least 30 minutes late, to show up and check out my apartment. 
  • It's got to be the day, the weather and the mini move that has really killed my patience.  Right before I spilled hot water on  myself, I glared at anyone who tried to talk to me!  Maybe I should wear a sign that says, "Please don't talk to me until AFTER I get some caffeine in my system!"  Still, I don't think it would work....people would ask why, like a 3 year old until you give them an answer that would satisfy their curiosity. 
  • I found out that my youngest uncle is getting married at the end of the month....which is kind of exciting! 
  •  What is stopping me from taking the rest of the afternoon off and sleeping? 
  • I really do think my apartment complex forgot about this appointment.
  • Am I selfish for not wanting to share my birthday celebration with other family members?
  • Speaking of birthdays, what should I do for it this year?

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Song of the Day

This guy has serious potential compared to the other crap that's out right now! What do you think?

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Setting the Record Straight

Since I got back from my trip, I have been thinking about everything that I posted while I was on vacation and how negative a lot of it was.  Please know that my time in Puerto Rico was anything but negative.  If anything, my time there was definitely eye opening.  
  • It made me realize how truly blessed I am to be able to even take a trip like that.  At a time when most people, young and old, are trying to make ends meet, I was able to take time off and stay in a beach house for nearly a week there.  A few of us were out the first or second day we were there and met a local man while he was walking by and during the conversation, he pointed to the house that we were staying in and said that's where the rich people stayed.  This man didn't know that we were staying there and we didn't tell him, but it really made us feel good. 
  •  Coming from Michigan, one would say that Puerto Rico is a very poor "country", but I would have to disagree.  Yes, their buildings may not tall and glorious looking like the ones found here, but they seem to be way more sturdier than many of the ones that are found here.  I found that Puerto Ricans have so much pride in their small country and more often than not, this made up for everything else. 
  • Coming from a place where we are in such a hurry to get place to place, I feel like sometimes we don't really enjoy the trip or destination.  There, though, they drive like crazy people, but once they get to their destination, they seem to relax and enjoy themselves. 
  • There, if you don't speak the language, then you are S.O.L.!   Every time we asked if the person helping us spoke English, the person would laugh at us, turn to the person standing next to them and speak in Spanish and turn back to us to say that they would find someone to help.  This experience definitely humbled me.  When you think about it, we do the same thing.  We talk down to the non-English speaker when we really shouldn't.
  •  Another thing that amazed me was that this country would rather build on top of other existing non historical buildings instead of cutting down a ton of trees.  Everywhere were went weren't buildings, like we see here.  Some would argue that that just can't be done here, but I would have to disagree.  Unused buildings could be reused or torn down to be used for something else.  That's just my opinion!
  • Do you remember the mom and pop stores that used to be around?  They are still around there!  Wal-Mart has not been allowed to take over and I commend Puerto Rico for that.  To me, those small stores add something that these huge superstores can't. 
Could we learn from this tiny territory?  Yeah, they have everything that we do, but the way of life is a little different, slower.  Well, as long as they aren't driving!  Could that simplistic lifestyle be what we really need in our society where our status is determined on what we have, rather than who we are?  Maybe....  Yes, there were a lot of "Did that really just happen?" moments on that trip, but I have to say that I would definitely go back.

Wednesday Random

Today, I asked one of my kids (interns, but they call me Mama Tiff), Meg, if she wanted to leave a little early instead of starting a project that I asked her to work on.  MOST people would have said heck yeah without hesitation.  Instead, she decided to stay until five.  She goes on to say, "I don't have much going on tonight.  My night consists of pizza and Shark Week!"  Wow...she is a total nerd! ;o)

Sunday, August 1, 2010

"A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." (Walter Winchell)

Today I got a text message from a friend of mine that said, "Happy Friendship Day!" and it made me really think about the people that I call friends.  Let me just say that I give this title to a select few and often times consider them family.  Other than relatives, they are the only people that know the real me and sometimes, it blows me away to know that they stick around!  Elbert Hubard once said, "Your friend is the person who knows all about you, and still likes you."  

Eleanor Roosevelt also said, "Some people come into our lives and quickly go.  So stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts.  And we are never, ever the same."  She couldn't have been more right.
I used to wonder what this meant and have come to understand that not all people are meant to stick around.  They are sometimes brought in our lives for a particular purpose and when their purpose has been fulfilled, both of you move on.  Everyone has dealt with this and I feel like this is not a lose, but a blessing.  You are better for meeting them.

I guess what I am saying is that no matter how much your friends drive you crazy with their nonsense and drama, (assuming they are real) at the end of the day, they will have your back and you have theirs.  That alone is a blessing and I really hope that no one takes that for granted!  


Have a great week, all!